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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23625667">Tease</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smylealong/pseuds/Smylealong'>Smylealong</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tease [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Humor, Pre-Relationship, Romance, Teasing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 18:01:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,856</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23625667</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smylealong/pseuds/Smylealong</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Three one-shots where Zuko teases Katara. Non-canon compliant.</p><p>It was meant to be four One Shots, but the fourth one did not work out. So finishing it at three.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katara &amp; Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tease [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1700650</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>278</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. EARTH: In the Streets of Ba Sing Se</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Remember I was talking about the pure fluff story I was talking about? Well, here it is. These are three interconnected one-shots where Zuko teases Katara.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">TEASE</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Earth: In the streets of Ba Sing Se</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>Stupid Toph and her stupid ideas. Katara huffed, a lock of her hair twitching with the action. What possessed her to abandon her good sense and listen to Toph of all people, she would never know. That girl was trouble wrapped in disaster, peppered with catastrophe. And Katara, knowing it all, had still <em>listened </em>to her! What did that make her? A moron. That was what.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She should have known it was a bad idea when Aang and Sokka had all but jumped at the idea. Katara sighed, slapping a hand on her forehead. It had all begun with Aang complaining. The search for Aapa was going badly, they weren’t getting anywhere with their attempts to meet the Earth King, and Joo Dee was driving them up the wall! Frustration was at its peak for the four of them and Aang had begun to whine.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Not that Katara could blame him but a whiny Aang was possibly the most annoying thing in the entire world. Two days of his incessant whining had gotten on every single one of their nerves and finally, Toph cracked. She, in all her devilish glory, came up with the idea of truth and dare.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The rules of the game was simple. If the bottle points to you, you truthfully answer a question, failing which you take a dare. All good, but stupid Toph was a human lie detector! Thus, when it was her turn and Aang had asked if she liked a boy, Katara had replied she didn’t.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I can tell you’re <em>lying</em>, Sugarqueen!” Toph sang and Aang’s grin grew wider.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> Aang’s little crush on her was beginning to turn problematic. The thing was, she hadn’t been thinking about Aang. At all. He was a nice kid, but that’s what he was. A kid. And so not her type! There was a reason she had liked Jet. Her tastes ran a little to the wilder side. She liked the more dangerous kind of guy. And this particular guy, the one she had been thinking about past few months, had been on her mind since spirit oasis, was the epitome of danger. How bravely he fought! And when he melted that ice-wall she had frozen him in?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Damn!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hot damn!</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Ehem!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anyway, the point was, Aang wasn’t the guy she had been thinking about, but she couldn’t tell him that. She couldn’t bring herself to be the reason for Great Aang Whine of Ba Sing Se, Chapter 2. So, she had chosen ‘dare’. And what a dare it was! Walk in the streets of lower ring of Ba Sing Se, without her water pouch. She was supposed to take just a fifteen-minute-long</p>
<p>stroll and come back. She had her pass on herself, and some money. So, all she had to do was remember where she was going, and she would be good to go.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But there was a reason Sokka was the map guy and not her. Her sense of direction was abysmal. And at that moment, she was lost. Completely and thoroughly. She had been roaming around the streets of the lower ring for an hour now and had no idea where she was going or what she was doing. To make matters worse, the longer she roamed, the worse the surroundings got. At that moment, she was at a place that stank to high heavens, was dark, seedy, and was giving her some serious creeps. Her hair had started to come out of her braid and sweat was forming large stains on her clothes. She hated it. She wanted to get out of here, and she wanted out now! Gritting her teeth, she approached an old, harmless looking man sitting on the stairs in front of a shop.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Err, excuse me, kind sir? I am... umm... kind of lost. Could you, maybe, tell me how to get to the middle ring?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The old man raised his eyes and looked at her, from top to toe, and grinned in a way that made Katara uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. She felt as though he was undressing her with his eyes. Katara shifted on her feet, hand going to her waist, only to realize that she didn’t have her water skin with her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Stupid Toph. Stupid idea.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She didn’t know what to do now. The old man then grinned, showing a couple of missing teeth, “Sure luv, my son and I cin show ya out. But ya gotta giv us sumtin in return, ya catch ma drift?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Saying so, the man raked his eyes over her yet again, making his intentions very clear. Then, to make matters worse, from the shadows, the said son emerged. A tall, burly man with a stench that could knock an appa-sized beast unconscious.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Katara took a hast step backwards, trying not to gag. “It’s okay. I… I can find my own way out.”</p>
<p>“Oh, come on, luv,” the stinky man said, moving closer to her, “Ya lost, aren’t ya? We only tryna help.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Before Katara could say anything else, a very familiar and wholly unexpected voice said, “Knock it off, Shen.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The color drained from the big man’s face, as he turned to look at the young boy on the cusp on manhood standing some way off, with his arms crossed across his chest, and a murderous expression on his face. Katara’s eyes widened at seeing the familiar figure. He no longer had the ponytail. Instead, his scalp was covered with short close-cropped hair. Seeing him here, out of the blue, did strange things to her stomach. Strange but not wholly unpleasant. Katara was about to say his name when he caught her eyes and shook his head, almost imperceptibly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The stinky man, however, straightened to his full height and said, “Lee. Ya wann yer share or sumthin?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If looks could kill, Shen would have been dead. Twice. “Shut up.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zuko pushed himself off the pillar he had been leaning against and walked over to Katara, twirling a stone between his fingers. He had grown taller in the past few months. Still, he was a good head and shoulder shorter than Shen. Yet, no one watching the two of them would doubt that the Prince could take on this man and win. Reaching up to her, he placed himself between the two of them. “I’ll be guiding her out. <em>You</em> will be gone.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At that moment, she could see that Zuko was someone accustomed to giving orders and having them obeyed. Shen, red in the face, stepped back. “This way, madam,” he said as he guided her with an upturned palm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Without a word, Katara followed him. A part of her wondered if she had exchanged a dangerous companion for an even more dangerous one but decided that she could take on Zuko. Known devil and all. As soon as they were out of the dirty-duo’s earshot, he spun on his heels to face her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What the fuck do you think you are doing?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>All the gratitude Katara had been feeling evaporated as irritation took over, “Wow. Hello to you too, <em>Lee.</em>”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“This is the lower ring of Ba Sing Se,” he hissed, towering over her. “And you are here, taking a merry stroll? Without your water skin? And I thought I was the one who made bad decisions. You are stupider than I thought.”</p>
<p>The truth in his words rankled her and Katara’s lips thinned. She crossed her arms and said, “You know what? Thank you for getting me out of that sticky situation but I can find my way out from here. I will see you around. Or not.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, clearly you have been doing a stellar job of it,” he said sarcasm dripping from his words.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Now shut the fuck up and keep walking. We are attracting attention.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Saying so he began marching. Katara grit her teeth and followed, “You have a mouth on you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tell me something I don’t know.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The two of them walked on in silence for a while before she finally said, “<em>Lee.</em> I don’t have stupidly long legs like yours.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He turned to look at her, gave her an exaggerated eye-roll, but waited for her to catch up, nevertheless. By the time she reached him, she was out of breath. He let out a huff and said, “Wait a minute. I’ll be right back,” and was gone before Katara could protest one way or the other.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>True to his words, he returned after a minute with a coconut, “Drink up. You’re dehydrated.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How do you know?” Katara snapped, looking at the fruit suspiciously.</p>
<p>“Fire Bender,” he said under his breath so that no one could hear him but she could read his lips. “We know thirst.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Katara accepted the fruit and drank the water, sighing in relief that it brought. Zuko waited while she drank the water, his foot tapping in a show of impatience. Finally done, she dropped the shell in an overflowing wastebasket. She then indicated that they should walk.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You scared that stinky man,” Katara said after a while, when the silence was beginning to get to her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“He’s a lowlife and a bully,” Zuko said in a soft voice. “I just stood up to him one day.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And now he almost wets himself when you show up?” Katara said, nodding. “And he hasn’t even seen you really fight, has he?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Nope,” he responded, a small smirk playing on his lips. “I figure he’d pass out.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Katara sniggered. He led her through serpentine streets, cutting across one dingy settlement after another. Soon, the wall of the middle ring loomed in her sight and Katara heaved a sigh of relief.</p>
<p>“What are you even doing here?” he asked suddenly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Katara sighed, “I have stupid friends.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, so birds of a feather <em>do</em> flock together.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, shut up!” Katara snapped. “I’m not the one who was trying to fight a blizzard in the poles.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Point conceded,” he answered in a flat voice. “But you didn’t really explain what you are doing here, without water.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Toph gave me a dare.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Toph? Who is he?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“She. Aang’s earthbending teacher.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Aang?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Seriously?” Katara said, her eyes popping out. “You chase us halfway across the world and you don’t know who Aang is? He is the avatar, you dummy.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh! That’s his name, is it? Good to know.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I don’t believe this!” Katara said, throwing up her arms in the air. “You are… impossible.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What about that other boy that’s with you all the time? What’s his name?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Katara wiped the sweat from her forehead, walking next to him, wondering how he had managed to find them every damn where with such little information about them? “Sokka.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And who is he? Your boyfriend?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Eww no! He’s my brother!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, so he’s the Avatar… I mean Aang’s boyfriend?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Because she turned to gape at him, Katara stumbled on a cobblestone, and Zuko’s hand immediately shot out to stop her from falling. The hand at her elbow sent a thrill down her spine. Straightening she glared at him as she wrenched her elbow out of his grasp.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Whatever made you think <em>that</em>?” she shuddered as unbidden, her mind showed her brother and Aang kissing. She shook her head, “No. He’s not Aang’s boyfriend.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Then what exactly is his purpose in the group? He is not a bender. Not a warrior. So, what does he do?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“He’s our leader.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That explains so much,” Zuko answered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“If I had my water with me right now –“</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But you don’t,” he pointed out. “So, tough. This way.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How the heck did you chase us all over with such little information?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m resourceful.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Clearly.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know what I need to know,” Zuko answered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Aang’s name was clearly not important enough,” Katara snapped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He simply shrugged.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What about me? Do you know my name?” She asked, just as the gates of the middle-ring showed up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He shrugged and said, “Wasn’t important enough.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She opened her mouth, now thoroughly irritated when he cut her impending tirade off with, “Do you have your pass with you, Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, daughter of Chief Hakoda?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Katara’s jaw dropped, “What?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you have your pass?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Y-yes, yes I do.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Off you go then.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How do you know all that?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’d be a pretty sucky hunter if I didn’t know all that is there to know about my quarry.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why did you… pretend to be so oblivious then?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I was teasing you,” he said with a smirk as he flicked the pebble in air and caught it. He was gone before Katara could gather her wits.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Air: In the halls of Western Air Temple</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Katara's mortification as Zuko continues to tease her.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Not much to say, except, enjoy! Do leave in a review. I am trying to update this every Sunday. Hope I can keep the schedule.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Air: In the halls of Western Air Temple</span>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The downside of traveling, or living, with a group of kids was that privacy was all but non-existent. Moments of solitude had to be stolen and viciously guarded. It did not help that the entire temple was made of stone, which meant that Toph could hear every single thing that happened in the halls. Everything! It was F.R.U.S.T.R.A.T.I.N.G.</p><p>Frustration has a way of building and building and without release it could drive people batty. That was what had happened to Katara. Her frustration rose and rose to a crescendo and set her teeth on edge. It did not help that a certain golden-eyed boy was now living with them. This boy who had helped her once in the streets of Ba Sing Se. The boy who had shared a very intimate moment with her at the catacombs of Ba Sing Se. And then, gone on to shatter her trust in him by attacking Aang. And now, he is back with claims about being <em>changed.</em></p><p>
  <em>As if! A tigerdillo didn’t change its stripes!</em>
</p><p>It did not help that the months that he had spent in the lap of luxury had rid him of the scrawny look of malnourishment. Instead, he had gained <em>muscles.</em> His hair had grown longer into a shag that, on anyone else would look messy but on him looked ridiculously good. How could someone so rotten on the inside look so gorgeous on the outside? What trickery was this? Be as it may, his looks were only causing Katara’s frustrations to rise further.</p><p>Case in point, this morning. Finishing her chores, she had been causally strolling when sound of a fireblast caught her attention. Eyes narrowing in anger, she walked over to see what new shenanigans the evil Fire Bender was up to. She was certain he was up to no good. She marched over to where the sound was coming from and stopped dead in her tracks.</p><p>Zuko was demonstrating a kata which Aang was following with keen eyes. Toph and Teo were sitting some way off, chattering away. Sokka was away with Haru and the Duke to gather some supplies.</p><p>Shirtless, with sweat glistening on his muscled body, the Fire Bender was going through the motions with quick, precise movements. His mouth was set in a firm line and his face held an intense expression. The sight was breathtaking, causing heat to pool between her legs. Katara swallowed and turned away from him and his nefarious charm. Idiot jerkbender!</p><p>Realizing that she had a moment to herself, unlike anything she had under this roof, Katara decided to use this time. She walked along the corridors and went inside to the fountain that they used as a bath. She had at least fifteen to twenty minutes to herself and she did not want to lose even a moment of it. Normally, they would keep an item of clothing on a peg outside the room, to indicate that there was someone using the fountain, but in her haste to capitalize on the time alone and in throes of her frustration, she neglected the little task.</p><p>Stripping down to her bindings, she lowered herself into the pool of water and sighed in relief. She closed her eyes and guided her element to slosh against her body to ease her sore muscles and mounting irritation. As her mind soothed, Katara became aware of a pressure down <em>there.</em> Unbidden, a pair of golden eyes floated into her mind. Eyes that were housed in a sharp, angular face, unique because of the scar that dominated the left side of it.</p><p>Katara cast a look around to confirm that she was indeed alone. Assuring herself of her solitude, she eased back into the water. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her breast and kneaded it, sighing at the pleasure the action brought. Then, she let her hand travel further south, fingers skimming over her flat stomach before letting them dip inside the waistband of her bindings. Further and further she went, kneading the nub that lay nestled between the folds of her skin. Thrill of pleasure traveled through her making Katara closed her eyes and threw her head back. Shuddering a little, she dipped one finger inside her. In and out, in and out. She explored the slick, wet crevice inside her, trembling, and sighing. A rush of heat traveled through her, making her spine arch in sheer pleasure. All through her ministrations, the golden eyes refused to leave her mind. With her eyes still closed, Katara let his name her lips in a moan, “Zuko.”</p><p>Less than ten feet away from her, someone cleared their throat. Loudly. Katara sat up, her heart in her mouth. She spun around to find Zuko standing halfway through the room, a towel in his hand and a shocked look on his face.</p><p>
  <em>Oh Shit!</em>
</p><p>Without a word, she rose from the fountain, keenly aware of his stare on her. Her heart thudded in her ears, drowning out every other sound. With a pull of her hand, she drew the water from her body and climbed out of the fountain. She picked up her dress and marched out, trying her best to ignore the tall, muscular, and sweaty fire bender in the room.</p>
<hr/><p>For the first time ever, Katara wished she was an earthbender. That way, the earth could swallow her, and she would not have to look at <em>him </em>or <em>that</em> smile on his face. To anyone else, it was unnoticeable. But she could see it. That slightest twitch of his lips and the gleam in his golden eyes. He was enjoying her utter mortification. Like he was doing right now. He was having a dragon fruit, deliberately letting its juices spill down his fingers. It had to be deliberate. He was a very neat eater, almost militaristic in his precision. So, for him to let the juices dribble down his hand, it had to be deliberate. It couldn’t be anything else. What was he playing at? She narrowed her eyes at him.</p><p>Catching her eyes, he gave that slightly crooked smile and very slowly, purposefully, licked the sweet juice off his forearm.</p><p>
  <em>Oh Spirits! That was too hot. </em>
</p><p>Katara felt her cheeks heat up when something he had said in Ba Sing Se came back to her.</p><p>
  <em>I was teasing you.</em>
</p><p>Damn the jerkbender!</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Fire: At the Beach of Ember Island</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Katara finds Zuko in the beach.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I had originally planned this to be a lot lighter than it turned out to be. I meant to update this on Sunday, but Subterfuge decided it wanted an update.</p>
<p>Please read and review.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <br/>
  <span class="u"></span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Fire: At the Beach of Ember Island</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>Katara rode the waves, allowing her element to wash away her stresses from the insufferable play. What were they even thinking? Sokka’s assessment of the play grated on her mind.</p>
<p>
  <em>The effects were decent.</em>
</p>
<p>Decent? <em>Decent</em>? Nothing was decent. It was absolutely barf inducing. Everything about it was wrong. Katara thought back to the actress who was playing her. Plump, big bosomed and heavier in her built. Her clothes were so bad! Deep cut and slits riding wayyyyy up her thighs. If she wore them in the poles, she would freeze before she could say <em>tearbend</em>.</p>
<p>Their every adventure, every victory was turned into a mockery. Toph seemed thrilled with her representation though. Sokka was happy with his representation as well. But that did not surprise her. He was easily pleased. Katara was rather surprised at how indifferent Suki was at being almost entirely overlooked by the playwrights.</p>
<p>Aang was probably the most impacted by the play. Aang. The mere thought of the boy brought something unpleasant to the fore and Katara shook her head. She did not want to think about <em>that.</em> Her blood boiled at the mere thought of it.</p>
<p>Speaking of blood, Katara was thankful they had not showed Hama and bloodbending. She stood in the ocean, letting the waves bob her up and down as she let her mind take hold. She had not told anyone, but ever since Hama, she could feel blood. She did not need the full moon. So long as there was moon in the sky, blood sang to her. She could hear her own heart beating in the steady rhythm.</p>
<p>
  <em>Lub-dub-lub-dub.</em>
</p>
<p>Part of Katara hated herself for this ability she had gained. But there was a part of her that was proud. Hama may have been the one to invent it, but she was the one that had perfected it. Closing her eyes, she focused on blood. Her own blood, coursing through her, feeding her organs. Going in and out of her heart.</p>
<p>
  <em>Lub-dub-lub-dub. </em>
</p>
<p>Below her was a school of fish, unaware that above them was a Water Bender who could end their lives with a mere thought, should she wish it. She widened the scope of her power and felt the owl flying above, its tiny heart fluttering. She breathed in, listening to the symphony of life.</p>
<p>
  <em>Lub-dub-lub-dub.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Da-dub-da-dub.</em>
</p>
<p>Katara’s eyes flicked open. That was a new heartbeat. A human heartbeat. There was someone else at the beach and based on the beats, she had a good idea who it was. Silently, she rode the waves and landed behind him. Under normal circumstances, he would have noticed her arrival but he seemed to be seeing inwards. He was oblivious to her arrival.</p>
<p>“Something on your mind?” She asked.</p>
<p>Zuko gave a comical yelp, his hand on his chest. Thanks to her now heightened senses, she could hear his heart thud wildly. “Agni! You scared me. Where did you come from?”</p>
<p>Katara grinned. Served him right. How many times had he teased her? Ever since he had accidentally walked in on her… err then… he had spared <em>no</em> chance to tease her ever so subtly. He had not been inappropriate. Ever. In fact, she knew that if she ever called him out on it, he could easily plead innocence and she would not be able to object.</p>
<p>Like the other day, when he was teaching Aang Fire Bending. They had been going on normally, as she would expect them to. But when she had joined Toph and Suki to watch the training, Zuko’s face had taken on that smirk. The one she had learned was reserved for when he wanted to tease her. Keeping his tongue firmly in his cheek, he had walked over and dumped a pitcher full of water over himself. He had then proceeded to wipe his body, slowly, deliberately. His eyes fixed on Aang while the smirk stayed on his lips. Katara had to practically flee the scene before she embarrassed herself. She had not missed Toph’s chuckle, but the girl had, thank the spirits, refrained from asking anything.</p>
<p>“I was in the ocean” Katara replied, grin still in place. “When I heard you.”</p>
<p>“<em>Heard</em> me? Out in the ocean?”</p>
<p><em>Oh crap!</em> The smug grin slipped off her face. Katara bent the water from her body, debating on what to say. “When moon is in the sky, I can hear heart beats.”</p>
<p>His face scrunched in confusion. “Heart beats? How?” His eyes widened as understanding dawned on him. “That man. The Southern Raiders.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” her face fell. “I’m a bloodbender.”</p>
<p>“Cool.”</p>
<p>Katara’s head whipped, “What? You think that’s cool?”</p>
<p>“It’s bending, isn’t it? Bending is cool.”</p>
<p>“You don’t think it’s evil? That… I’m evil?”</p>
<p>Zuko turned to look at the ocean, running a hand through his hair. “Katara, I have seen true evil. You’re not it.”</p>
<p>“By true evil… you mean…” she stopped, unable to voice her thoughts.</p>
<p>He paused for a few heart beats before he said, “That play for example. Pure evil.”</p>
<p>Katara recognized his words for the diversion that they were. A part of her wanted to press, she wanted to know what he meant when he said that. She was a naturally nosy no… curious, yes, let’s go with that, curious person. But her relationship with the prince was confusing and tentative. They were friends, yes, but she still didn’t <em>really</em> know him. She knew he had a temper. Sure, he swore up and down that he had given up on his rage, but this was still personal. She had learned that the scar on his face had been done by someone. She didn’t know who. But he had, off-handedly mentioned that to Suki.</p>
<p>They had been sparring when Zuko had accidentally nicked her. It had been a scrape, which Katara had healed almost immediately. But Zuko had been distraught. When Suki had tried to reassure him, over and over, that it was a mere accident and that him of all people should know that accidents happen.</p>
<p>That had stopped him dead in his tracks and he stared at her, “What does that mean?”</p>
<p>“Ummm, your,” Suki motioned at the left side of her face. “it was an accident, right?”</p>
<p>He gave a scoff, “No. Master Fire Benders don’t have accidents like this. He knew what he was doing.”</p>
<p>Without explaining further, he had walked away. The implication of the sentence had made both her and Suki sick. Suki had actually retched. Katara for her part, had since then wished she knew who had done that to him. Over and over again, she fancied squeezing the man’s heart, slowly. Painfully.</p>
<p>But curious as she was, she could understand that this was a deeply sensitive topic for him. One he needed his own time and space to talk about. She knew forcing her hand in this matter would push him away and the thought did not hold appeal in Katara’s mind. She took the line he had given and allowed him the dignity of his privacy.</p>
<p>She chuckled and flopped on the sand, “Yes. What were they even thinking?”</p>
<p>Katara sensed Zuko’s heart beats slow down. He was relieved that she had not persisted. He sat down on the beach and picked up a shell, turning it in his fingers. “I gave my girlfriend a shell once. She said it was stupid. Is it?”</p>
<p>Katara felt a stab of disappointment course through her which she brushed aside. He was a sixteen year old prince. Handsome and charming. Of course he had a girlfriend. Katara forced her lips to a smile and said, “In Water Tribes, a boy giving a girl a shell means he is interested in her and wants to pursue her romantically. So, no. I don’t think it’s stupid.”</p>
<p>“Huh. Phew. I was about to hand this shell to you,” he said with a chuckle. “Good you told me before I made a fool of myself.”</p>
<p><em>Message received, Zuko.</em> She thought. Aloud she said, “I didn’t know you have a girlfriend.”</p>
<p>“Had,” he said. “We broke up before I came here. Rather, I broke up. If I ever see her again, I’ll be a pin cushion.”</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“You’ve met her. Mai.”</p>
<p>Katara sputtered, “Wait. Ms. Gloomy?”</p>
<p>He gave half a grin, “Yeah. Gloomy? One of Toph’s names, is it?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” before she could stop herself, Katara asked, “She’s so unlike you. What did you guys even talk about?”</p>
<p>“Not really. We have some common grounds,” he said, looking off in the distance, still toying with the shell in his hand. “By the way, I wanted to ask you something about earlier today.”</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh spirits. Did he see Aang kissing me?</em>
</p>
<p>“Umm what?”</p>
<p>He turned to look at her, very clearly annoyed, “You said that actor was like me. How was he like me? Even his scar was on the wrong side!”</p>
<p>Katara smiled, burrowing her toes into the sand, “Well, he talked like you. Had your body language down to pat. Even walked like you.”</p>
<p>His eyebrow had disappeared into his hairline, “Reeeeally?”</p>
<p>Katara looked out to the sea, playing with her hair, “Yeah. I mean scar on the wrong side notwithstanding; he even had your expressions and intonation right.”</p>
<p>“Is that so?”</p>
<p>“Yup. Totally.”</p>
<p>“I had no idea you had studied me so closely.”</p>
<p>Katara sat up straight, realizing far too late the trap that he had set for her. <em>Damn the jerkbender. </em>Flustered, she shot to her feet and without a word, turned to walk away. She had taken a good seven steps when he called her.</p>
<p>“Katara.”</p>
<p>Despite herself, she turned around. He was standing, looking at her. In the darkness, she could not make out the expression on his face.</p>
<p>“Catch,” he said as he threw something at her.</p>
<p>Purely on instinct, her hands flew up and she caught whatever he had thrown at her. Curious she opened her hand to find the shell he had been playing with in her hand.</p>
<p> </p>
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